• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Cattle ranchers discovered tens of thousands of dead animals in their fields last fall after an unexpected blizzard slammed western North and South Dakota, a devastating loss for their livelihood, but they're finding renewed hope as spring calving season contributes to their herds' recovery.
• The intense two-day October storm, which first brought rain and then dumped up to 4 feet of snow in some places, killed calves that were due to be sold and cows that would have birthed this year's calves.
• Chuck O'Connor of Philip, who lost 45 of his 600 cows and 50 of his 600 calves in the blizzard, said his surviving black cows and Charolais calves are healthy and he's not diverging from his standard calving practices. He brought in about 200 replacement females to rebuild and expand his herd.
• "There's nothing you can do differently," the 77-year-old rancher said. "Just because I had a loss doesn't mean I'm going to quit."
• Cattle experts say recovery could take years for ranchers who lost high percentages of their herds. In South Dakota, more than 40,000 cattle, sheep and horses caught in the rain, snow and high winds died of congestive heart failure brought on by stress. North Dakota's losses are believed to be more than 1,000 animals.
• The storm ushered in a frigid winter, but things warmed up for O'Connor in early March with the birth of his first calf. The ranch has since welcomed about 75 new members of the herd, and O'Connor estimates that he'll have reached 500 newborns by early May when his calving season ends.
• Julie Walker, an SDSU Extension beef specialist, said the storm recovery will be the toughest on ranchers who suffered the most, especially those who lost 80 to 90 percent of their herds. Bringing in a replacement heifer could run $2,000 and there typically aren't enough females available on the open market to purchase because of the nation's low cattle numbers, she said.
• "When you're talking that kind of devastation with only 10 percent of your cows left, even keeping all your replacements, you're not going to rebuild at a rate fast enough," said Walker, an associate professor in animal science at South Dakota State University. "Then it becomes a financial issue. Can you go buy from outside?"
• More than 600 ranchers have applied for help from a relief fund set up by the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association and the South Dakota Sheep Growers Association. The fund has received more

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